Comey to testify on Clinton email probe Thursday

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FBI Director James Comey will testify on Capitol Hill Thursday regarding the bureau's investigation of Hillary Clinton's email practices, part of a concerted GOP effort to keep the heat on Clinton heading into the party conventions and a long congressional recess.

Comey will appear before the Oversight Committee at 10 a.m., House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said on Wednesday morning. The hearing will be just two days after Comey's stunning repudiation of Clinton's "extremely careless" practice of using a private email server to send classified information during her tenure as secretary of State. Comey did not recommend charges be filed against her, stoking GOP outrage and propelling congressional leaders like Chaffetz to seek more information.

Chaffetz's Senate counterpart, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), demanded a written explanation of Comey's decision-making on Wednesday. And House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said that Attorney General Loretta Lynch will testify next Tuesday before his panel about Clinton's email practices, as well as Bill Clinton's private meeting with Lynch in late June.

The flurry of action highlights the GOP's exasperation over Comey's decision not to recommend an indictment despite his harsh words for Clinton. Republicans said the decision feeds the public perception that the Clintons are not held to the same standard as other Americans, and the GOP is set to use the matter as a electoral cudgel over the next four months.

Chaffetz called it "surprising and confusing" that Comey did not recommend an indictment; the FBI chief's criticism, in Chaffetz's view, "makes clear Secretary Clinton violated the law."

"Congress and the American people have a right to understand the depth and breadth of the FBI's investigation," Chaffetz said in a statement announcing that Comey had agreed to his request.

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Hopefully, the GOP will not spend much time attacking Comey (though he deserves it) but rather aim their attacks on Hillary. (Though I don't know how they would plan on doing this since the Trump campaign has no money. Maybe send another Tweet out to his adoring followers?)

The problem was that Comey added a qualifier to the law, namely one of intent. Apparently, he can now read the minds of people and concluded that she had no intent to distribute state secrets. The error of this reasoning is that Congress has no "intent" clause in the law, just a determination of whether or not an infraction occurred. I liken this to a baseball umpire not awarding a batter first base after getting hit by the pitch because the umpire has decided the pitcher didn't mean to do it.

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GOP is bungling the hearings with Comey. They should have held a couple of press conferences, talked up the fact they might call him before a congressional committee, build some interest. Basically, they could have milked this over several news cycles and stretched it out so that it was still in the news when the GOP convention started, but no, they had to jump right on it. It will be over by tomorrow.

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Gowdy absolutely destroyed Comey over "intent" and Comey admitted that AG Lynch lied about following his lead and "helped" him with his interpretation of the statute. He also stated that Hillary lied under oath. Perjury anyone? Right. Not for a Clinton.

Comey's career is over. His integrity in the toilet. His reputation shot. Resignation is in his immediate future. If not, he should be impeached.

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